Material handling apparatus



Dec. 12, 1939.

R. C. KIVLEY' MATERIAL HANDLING APPARATUS Filed Sept. 16, 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 o o o 0 26 o O i O 9 v/ r M fif mw m N wmfi we 7 f; w R NR 3 R. C. KIVLEY Filed Sept. 16, 1937 MATERIAL HANDLING APPARATUS Dec. 12, 1939.

Patented Dec. 12,1939

MATERIAL HANDLING APPARATUS Ray C. Kivley, Oak Park, lllL, assignor to Western Electric Company, Incorporated, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application September 16, 1937, Serial No. 164,165

1 Claim.

This invention relates to material handling apparatus, and more particularly to apparatus for quenching parts which have been galvanized.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a simple and safe apparatus for handling articles.

In accordance with one embodiment of the invention, there is provided a device for quenching articles of hardware after they have been passed through a galvanizing bath, which comprises a tiltable basket-receiving framework for receiving a basket in which articles have been carried during their immersion in a galvanizing bath, which framework carries a trough-like member for directing the parts from the basket, when the framework is tilted, into a perforated receptacle immersed in a quenching bath. The receptacle is pivotally mounted so that it may be rocked out of the quenching bath to dump the quenched parts onto a platform for direction'to, a suitable tote pan or similar device. The tiltable receptacle is arranged to be driven through a bell crank lever which is operative when the tiltable framework is in a predetermined position and inoperative when the tiltable framework is in any other position.

A better understanding of the invention will be had by reference to the following detailed description when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein Fig. l is a plan View of a quenching tank for use in a hardware galvanizing process;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged side elevationalview of the structure shown in Fig. 1, parts being broken away to more clearly illustrate the structural features of the apparatus;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary elevational View showing the tiltable framework and taken substantially along the line 3-3 of Fig. 1 in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along the line ll of Fig. 3 in the direction of the arrows; and

Fig. 5 is a circuit schematic showing the electrical control for the tiltable receptacle.

Referring now to the drawings, wherein like reference characters designate the same parts throughout the several views, the numeral Ill designates generally a sheet iron framework composed of side plates H and it, end plates it and It, an intermediate plate 55 and a top plate It. The top plate it, as clearly shown in Fig. 2, slants downwardly to the right end (Figs. 1 and 2) of the framework l0 and is provided with a plurality of apertures It at its lower end, the

purpose of which will become apparent as the description progresses.

The side plate 52 is cut away, as shown at I9, (Fig. 2) and has fixed thereto a pair of plates 20 and 2 I, which extend outwardly from the plate" l2. A pair of bearings 22 and 23 are mounted upon the plates .29, and 2!, respectively, for rotatably supporting a shaft 2d, to which there is fixed an angle iron framework 25, the horizontally extending portion of which is V-shaped" in configuration and the vertically extending portion of which is secured to the shaft 24. At the apex of the V-shaped portion of the framework 25, there is pivotally mounted a'latch member 26 adapted to secure a galvanizing basket 21, shown in dot. and dash lines of Fig. 3, in place with its bottom resting upon the V-shaped portion and its left edge engaging the horizontal portion of the framework 25 so that the basket will not fall off of the framework 25 when the framework is tilted to dump parts which have been galvanized out of the basket 2? onto a chute 28 fixed to the shaft 24 by plate members 29 and 3B for directing the galvanized parts into a perforated receptacle 35 partially immersed in a quenching bath 35 contained in that portion of the framework ill bounded by the side plates II and I2, end plate l3, and intermediate plate 55.

The receptacle 35 is formed of a pair of side plates Ml and M, substantially trapezoidal in shape, a perforated bottom portion M, which is bent at 45 and has an upwardly slanting portion 46 extending from the bent portion to its junction with the side plate 49 and perforated end plates 41 and 48. l The receptacle 35 is reinforced at the juncture of the end and side plates by angle iron members 53 and 54 and at the upper and lower portions by angle iron members 55 and 56, respectively. The upper angle iron members 55 have a pair of upwardly extending arms 42 and 53 secured thereto. When the receptacle 35 is in the position shown, it rests upon a channel iron member 51, which is bent to conform to the bottom Ml to support the bottom when parts are dumped from the basket Z'l intothe receptacle and guided by the side walls 4? and t8 and the portion 46 of the bottom M into the lower end of the receptacle. The receptacle 35 is fixed to a shaft b means of projections 61 and 62 formed integral with the arms t2 and it, which have a pair of plates 58 and 59 fixed thereto for guiding parts dumped from the receptacle toward the center a oscillated by means of a link pivotally attached at 66 to a portion of the end plate 4| and adapted to be driven by a crank 67 keyed to a shaft 63 of a gear reducer 69. The gear reducer is mounted within the framework l0 and is adapted to be driven by a motor 7U mounted adjacent thereto and adapted to be supplied with current from a suitable source of supply H (Fig. 5) upon closure of a manually operable key '52. The liquid forming the quenching bath 36 is fed into the tank portion of the framework H] through a feed pipe l5 and the level thereof is maintained constant by the height of an outlet pipe '56.

Positioned directly beneath the apertures 18 of the plate i6 is a trough 11 having a drain pipe l8 interconnecting its lowermost portion with the outlet pipe 76 so that any excess of the quenching bath remaining on the galvanized parts after they are removed from the bath will be directed to the outlet pipe 76 before the parts are directed into a container l9 supported by' a shelf till fixed to the end plate l4.

An extending portion of the shaft 24 passes through the plate 2!] and carries a contact actuating arm 86 which, when the tiltable framework 25 is in the position shown, will maintain a pair of contacts 8'! closed (Fig. 5) but which will permit the contacts Bl to open when the framework is tilted out of the position shown.

A more complete understanding of the invention will be had by reference to the following brief description of the operation thereof. After parts have been dipped in a galvanizing bath while in the basket 21, they may be transported in any suitable manner, not shown, to the quenching apparatus forming the subject matter of this application and deposited on the framework 25 where the basket, which is provided with a ridge 81, will be latched to the framework 25 by means of the latch member 26 and the basket tilted to dump the parts therefrom onto the trough 28, which will direct the parts into the receptacle 35. After the parts have thus been quenched in the quenching bath 36, which penetrates into the basket 35 through the apertures in the bottom M and end plates 4'! and 48, the parts may be dumped from the receptacle 35 onto the top plate It, which will direct them to a container 79. The tilting of the framework 25 is done manually; however, the tilting of the receptacle 35 is done by closing the manually operable key 12 to supply current from the source of supply I! to the motor (0, suitable interlocking members, not shown, being provided to cause the motor to run until one complete revolution of the shaft 68 of the gear reducer 69 has taken place. However, if the framework 25 is out of its normal position, as shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, the circuit to the motor '18 will be broken at the contacts 87 and the quenching receptacle 35 will not be operated until the framework 25 is returned to its normal position, thereby preventing accidental operation of the receptacle 35, which might injure the operators or the apparatus. Although a specific embodiment of the invention has been shown and described herein, it will be understood that numerous modifications and alterations could be made in the apparatus without departing from the scope of the invention, which is to be limited only by the scope of the appended claim.

What is claimed is:

Quenching apparatus for use in conjunction with galvanizing processes comprising means for receiving a supply of quenching material, a receptacle normally held in a horizontal position and partially immersed in said quenching material, a tiltable basket supporting framework normally held in a horizontal position to receive a basket full of parts to be quenched and tiltable to dump the contents of a basket into the receptacle, motor driven means for tilting the receptacle from its normal horizontal position to empty quenched parts from it, and an electrical interlock in the motor circuit operable under control of the tiltable framework for opening the operating circuit of the motor when the framework is tilted to prevent tilting of the receptacle when the framework is out of its normal position.

RAY C. IQVLEY. 

